This invention relates to the field of brazing and brazed tools. More specifically, it relates to braze fixtures and their use to braze components together and, also, maintain the components being joined in a desired relationship with respect to one another during automatic brazing operations.
It is well known to form cutting tools having a working end and a shank by brazing a hard wear resistant insert, such as cemented carbide, onto the working end of a shank made of a softer but tougher material, such as steel. In some cases, the configuration of the mating faces on the insert and the shank act to maintain the relative positions of the two components during brazing. However, in many cases, the design of the tool or components will let relative movement between the components take place during brazing unless external fixturing is applied to maintain the alignment of the pieces.
It is this later situation with which this invention is concerned. During automated brazing operations, the braze material between the insert and the tool body is brought to a molten state at a first station, for example, by induction heating. The tool is then moved to a second station for cooling or quenching. During this movement from the first to second station, while the braze material is still at least partially molten, relative movement between the insert and the tool body can easily occur.
In the past, attempts to solve this problem resulted in the use of an external transfer fixture which held the insert in alignment with the tool body while the assembly was being transferred from the heating to the cooling station. This solution, however, introduced a new problem. It was found that the flux that coated the tool body, insert and braze material to prevent contamination would build up on the external fixturing and thereby prevent the fixture from properly engaging the insert and tool body. To avoid this, the automatic brazing process had to be periodically shut down in order to clean the flux off the fixture.